New Jerusalem's Heavenly Residents

Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!"

(Revelation 4:6-8)

The third category of individuals who will reside in the New Jerusalem is the four living creatures. These individuals are described in this passage of Scripture as being in the midst of the throne and around the throne. In other words, they never leave the presence of God. The prophet Ezekiel also saw these four individuals in a vision and initially described them as four living creatures (Ezekiel 1:5). In subsequent visions of the same creatures, he referred to them as cherubim, for God revealed to Ezekiel that they were indeed cherubim (Ezekiel 10:20). Thus, we know that these four are angelic beings, as cherubim are angels. One reason we know these four angels never leave God’s presence is that Scripture often describes God as the One who dwells between the cherubim (Psalm 99:1). However, the four cherubim will not be the only angels in the city. Scripture speaks of the twelve angels at each of the city’s gates (Revelation 21:12). Additionally, the Book of Revelation mentions numerous other angels standing in the presence of God (Revelation 8:2). Thus, Scripture indicates that many other angels will dwell in the city, responsible for various functions. Furthermore, there will be angels assigned to every saint as their ministering spirits. In short, many angels will dwell among the saints in the New Jerusalem.

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, "Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife." And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.

(Revelation 21:9-11)

The fourth category of individuals who will reside in the New Jerusalem is the church. In this passage of Scripture, the angel describes the holy Jerusalem as the Lamb’s wife. We know that the bride of Christ is the church of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2). Thus, the church of Christ will be the primary residents of the New Jerusalem. As we will see in later sections of this series, the number of saints living in the city will impact various aspects, such as the city’s design and the saints’ reign. Therefore, it is necessary to estimate how many saints will live in the city. To do this, we will rely on Scripture to provide an indication of this number, bearing in mind that our Lord Jesus said few find the narrow gate to life (Matthew 7:14).

Scripture provides two accounts where God reveals the number of His saints, allowing us to estimate their total number by applying these figures as a percentage of the comparable population at the time. In one account, God tells the prophet Elijah that He had reserved 7,000 men of Israel to Himself during a time when Israel had rebelled against God (Romans 11:4). At that time, the adult population of Israel was approximately 3 million people. Thus, the saints constituted 0.23% of the total population. In another account, God tells the prophet Jonah that the city of Nineveh had a population of 120,000 people (Jonah 4:11), and we know that God reserved the people of Nineveh for Himself, as Jesus said they would be among the saints who will judge the world on the last day (Luke 11:32). At the time of Jonah’s preaching in Nineveh, the total population of the earth was approximately 75 million people. Thus, the saints constituted 0.16% of the total population.

It is estimated that by the year 2050, the total number of people born on earth since the time of Adam will be approximately 120 billion. If we apply the average of these two percentages (0.195%) to the total population, this would equate to between 200 and 300 million saints. Some estimate that the number of saints could be as high as one billion or more, but this seems highly unlikely. Such a number would mean that each saint would reign over only three people during our Lord’s thousand-year reign, as there will be about 3 billion people alive on earth at that time (details regarding this number are found in my series The Millennial Kingdom). It would also mean that each saint would reign over 25 people in the age to come, as there will be about 25 billion people on earth at that time.

Those who believe the number of saints will be significantly higher than 1 billion argue that there must be at least 1 billion saints on earth today alone. This would mean that roughly 15% of the world’s population is born again. However, nations where the Christian population is negligible—such as Muslim nations, India, Russia, and China—account for nearly 70% of the world’s population. For 1 billion saints to be living in the rest of the world today, they would need to constitute roughly 50% of those nations’ populations. Even the USA, which reports a born-again population of approximately 29%, falls short of this mark. Furthermore, consider the impact on a nation’s morality if 50% of its population were born again. Such nations would exemplify high moral standards, yet we see the opposite occurring worldwide. Thus, the evidence suggests that a figure of 1 billion born-again people today is not valid. We must also remember that we are nearing the end of the age, and the prophesied falling away will further reduce the number in the church significantly. Nevertheless, for illustrative purposes, we will use the figure of 300 million saints in this series.

He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.

(Revelation 3:12)

In this passage of Scripture, the Lord Jesus tells the saints that they will become pillars in the temple of God and will go out no more. We have already seen in an earlier passage that God Himself and the Lord Jesus are the temple of the New Jerusalem. Thus, what our Lord is saying is that His saints will dwell in the New Jerusalem for all eternity. In other words, the New Jerusalem is the final home of every saint of God. Among mankind, only the church of the Lord Jesus will be privileged to live within the city walls of the New Jerusalem.

Michael E.B. Maher

The End of the Age

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